


Turn of the Tide

by brownhare



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, violent at times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-01-30 04:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21421855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brownhare/pseuds/brownhare
Summary: Canon compliant story that explores the journey of James Potter and Lily Evans during their later years of Hogwarts and their role in the First Wizarding War. In these years, James and Lily begin to really understand each other and find they like the person they discover under previous misconceptions. Through grief, fear, humor friendship blossoms and romance follows shortly after.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. Gloom of the Storm

**Ch. 1: Gloom of the Storm**

Lily awoke to wailing wind and torrential rain pouring on her window. Slowly her eyes adjusted to the dim light in her small, ordinary bedroom in Cokeworth. As she became more alert to her environment, she shivered from chill in her room. Wearily, she thought to herself_ , This storm is relentless… 12 bloody days. Enough is enough. _ She climbed from her bed, found a warm sweater from her closet. It was ugly, brown, unflattering and dull but it was also warm and soft. She pulled it over her head. She took off her pajama bottoms and stepped into a hand-me-down pair of jeans with a large rip in the right knee. She then walked to the lamp sitting on a small desk in the corner of the room. She tried to turn it on, but nothing happened. She walked back to her twin sized bed and attempted to turn on the bedside lamp. Clicking the switch a few times, but still no light. Lily quickly realized that there was a power outage. It was the third one in a week. She caught a glimpse of her wristwatch. It was 9:13 in the morning. The storm had become so severe, the sunlight was nearly completely blocked out creating the sense that it was close to dawn or dusk; not that Cokeworth was particularly sunny anyway, but Lily did yearn for some warmth of summer. Lily thought of the weather forecast she heard the previous day, they were predicting hurricane force winds. Lily said a quick prayer willing it to not actually become one. _ So strange, _ she thought, _ these storms in the middle of July. _ An image of the daily prophet headline " **A DARK WIZARD RISES"** came to mind and she darkly remarked to herself aloud, "Maybe not so strange."

Lily stretched and started toward the door. She roughly combed her hair with her fingers while she made her way down the short distance of the hallway, down the stairs and into the small kitchen where she found her mother lighting the gas stovetop to make tea. Daralea Evans looked up and smiled brightly at her youngest daughter. Lily was nearly a carbon copy of her mother. They shared the same bright green eyes, rose mouth, delicate nose, fair peach skin lightly dusted in freckles, and red hair. Albeit, her mother's hair was curlier and a slightly darker auburn than Lily's deep wavy red.

"Morning, Mum"

"Good morning, sweetheart. Daddy left early this morning, this storm took out a powerline a little after one in the morning." Although Daralea had been living in England since she married her husband more than two decades ago, she still held decidedly onto her Irish accent.

Lily frowned slightly. Her father had worked at the power company for over twenty years. He started on the factory floor right out of secondary school when he was 17 years old. Iain Evans was a hardworking man. Over the years, he worked his way into more responsibility and dedicated his time increasingly to his work. Lily noted the toll it took on him when he picked her up at King's Cross after the completion of her 5th year at Hogwarts. Her Father, previously golden-blonde with a few stray gray hairs and soft blue eyes framed with fine crow's feet had gone completely gray and obtained deep wrinkles on his forehead, corners of his eyes, and on his cheeks during her fifth year alone. Lily was shocked by how he aged and developed a growing anxiety about her father's health.

Daralea eyed her daughter's worried frown and said, "He'll be alright. I'm sure it will be cleared in no time and he'll be home in time for dinner." Daralea gathered teacups, pulled out some scones that she and Lily had made the previous morning, and set them on the table. Changing the subject, she started, "I talked to your sister on the phone yesterday, before the lines when out. She's enjoying her typing school and her flat is fully settled. She has actually been offered a secretary position at a drill company after she completes her last typing class. She's very excited and she sounded happy. Daddy and I were thinking at the end of the month, we would take a drive out to see her."

Prior to Lily returning home, Petunia had graduated from secondary school and promptly moved to London. This was the first summer Lily had not seen or spoken to her sister at all.

Lily nodded, "That could be nice." She suddenly felt tense about the prospect of seeing her sister. "Mum, do you think…" she was cut off by the scream of the teakettle. Her mother busied herself at the stove. She sat down at the table across from her daughter, placing the brewing teapot and cups in front of them.

Carefully, her mother said, "I know you and your sister have a difficult relationship. I know you are very different, Lord only knows how different the two of you are, but you are still sisters and you love each other. I'm asking BOTH of you to try to get along. We will drive to London in two weeks for a visit. You are going. You will be nice. There will be no toads, frogs, salamanders or amphibians of any kind present during this visit."

Mrs. Evans sent a withering look at her daughter. They made eye contact briefly before Lily dropped her gaze and kept her eyes fixed on the hole in her jeans. Lily knew her mother was digging in for a long lecture that would make her feel increasingly guilty as each minute dragged on. One of her mother’s greatest skills was making people so guilty they felt compelled to do the right thing. Thankfully, Mrs. Evans was interrupted by a sharp rapping on the door.

Lily answered to a 13-year-old Johnny Taylor who stood before her soaking wet and shivering. Lily pulled him into the house quickly.

"Er… Hi Lily! I umm… Is your mum home?" He issued urgently. As an afterthought he asked, "Having a good summer? It's so good to see you." The boy being a few years younger than Lily had always been slightly taken with her. Before she could respond, Daralea peered out of the kitchen.

"Johnny! Has your mother's labor started?" Her mother said in a tone that was possibly sharper than she meant for it to be.

"Yes Mrs. Evans. Her waters broke about 20 minutes ago, we tried to call, but couldn't get through. So…. I… Um. I ran here to get you."

"Good boy. Run back home. I'll be there in a few minutes. Then I want you to run out and get your father once I get there. Do you think you can do that?" The boy nodded. She then turned to her daughter. "I'm sorry, dear. I must go. I should be back this afternoon if this birth is anything like the last three."

Her mother rushed upstairs and changed into her midwife's uniform and then was out the door, and disappeared on bicycle into the storm that raged outside.

Lily went back into the kitchen. She cleared her mother's forgotten tea and the scones from the table. She took her own tea, and then made her way back up to her dark bedroom. For a few moments, Lily peered out her window. It was difficult to see the brick buildings that lined the cobble street she lived on. She thought for a moment that this summer was becoming a very lonely and boring one. Normally, she had Severus to keep her company. If not him, she at least had Petunia to distract her from the dull and bleak city of Cokeworth. Although, if she was honest with herself, she wasn't too disappointed by her sister's absence.

Lily lit a candle and looked over some of the letters she received from her friends at Hogwarts. She received several from her roommates Marlene McKinnon, Emmeline Vance, and Dorcas Meadowes. She smiled fondly and missed their constant, good-natured bickering. Her favorite letter, she received was from Alice Fortescue. Alice graduated from Hogwarts at the end of term. Lily of course had known her throughout her Hogwarts career, but the two became close friends due to the prefect duties they shared last term. Lily spent a lot of time during the past year assisting Alice with her head girl duties. Lily smiled at her letter from Alice. She had a strong respect for her friend. Alice was a brilliant witch. In her letter, she detailed how she was pleased with her N.E.W.T results. She had received four outstanding and one exceeds expectations. However, that wasn't what Alice was most pleased about in her letter. Alice had started her Auror training immediately after the end of the school year. In doing so, she "reconnected" with Frank Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor and head boy during Lily's third year. Lily could tell by her writing that Alice was smitten. She smiled at the words on the parchment. Lily had a strong suspicion that Frank had mutual feelings. 

Lily fumbled with the letters when she noticed one she had forgotten about. It was from James Potter. In it, was messy handwriting and a non-apology from Potter for the events that transpired between him, Severus and herself. When she received it, she practically shooed his owl out the window, as the poor thing appeared to be waiting for a reply. She adamantly refused and the owl eventually flew away. That was over two weeks ago.

As she examined the untidy, small script for a second time, her heart skipped a beat. How could she have forgotten? The memory of her, Potter and Severus surfaced in her mind and she felt a flash of anger. She wanted to be angry with only Potter, but she knew she wasn't. Okay, she was a little. He was such a stupid idiot sometimes. She wanted to be angry with Severus, but she only felt heart broken. A second memory rushed before her eyes.

_ "Does it make a difference, being muggle-born?" _

_ She waited a beat. He hesitated. He definitely hesitated. She was melting into apprehension. _

_ "No," he said. "It doesn't make a difference." _

She sat in her bedroom thinking about the conversation the two had, so many years ago. She felt tears gathering and a tightness in her throat_ . It doesn't make a difference. _ But it did. She knew it did, at least it did to him and many other dangerous witches and wizards. And his stupid, dark magic obsessed friends. It mattered to them. She took a deep breath and silently admitted to herself that it also kind of mattered to her. 

She took a shuddering breath and pushed the coming tears aside. She refused to cry again over Severus. He was a lousy friend. She surprised herself when she loudly said to no one in particular, “He treated you like dirt, because he things you are dirt.” 

She thought about the way Severus would look at her. She usually thought it was sweet. They were great friends. But there were times when his gaze unnerved her; Times when she saw greed and want in his eyes. She remembered the time he snapped the branch over Petunia and it came crash down injuring her shoulder. Lily cursed herself. How could she not have seen it? He always had a distain for muggles. She knew it and she knew why… but her sister was innocent. Her anger bubbled at she knew it was with herself. She took in a second deep breath and thought darkly, _ How did I not see him? _ She refused to cry for Severus. He made his choice and it wasn't her.

Greif was building inside her. She shook her head violently, then sighed and forcefully threw Potter's half-hearted attempt of an apology down on the pile of notes and letters. And blew out the pathetic candle. She walked over to her school trunk and pulled out her Transfiguration textbook. She had a long reading list and homework to do over the summer; Professor McGonagall assigned a ludicrous amount.

She took her work downstairs to the sitting room and lit a fire for warmth and light. She worked the remainder of the morning when suddenly the lights flickered on in the kitchen. Lily clicked the lamp on the side table. The power was back. Lily sighed, relieved. She retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen and continued to work for several more hours, diligently writing answers and taking beautiful notes on the material she was given to study.

At about 4:50, Lily felt the pains of hunger. She realized she had skipped lunch and had nothing more than a scone with tea for breakfast. She walked into the kitchen poured herself a glass of water and bit into an apple. She heard a clattering outside the kitchen window; she glanced out and saw marble-sized hail clamoring down. Groaning, Lily ate her apple then noticed sour dough her mother must have been working on this morning before she left in a hurry. Lily took the dough and formed it into a loaf. She went to the pantry and fridge and pulled out the ingredients to make a beef stew.

As she made dinner for her mother and father, she could not help but wonder about the similarities between cooking and making potions. Both required a certain amount of skill, intuition, and science. She supposed that her thoughts were naive. The clanging of the telephone ringing interrupted her thoughts. Lily walked to the wall and answered.

"Evans Residence."

"Oh good! The phone lines are working!"

"Daddy! Are you on your way home soon?"

"No. The power is out on the other side of town now. Hopefully it will be an easy fix, but I'm afraid I will be late."

"Are you at the factory? I can bring some dinner over in a few minutes."

"Lily, you don't have to. Is your mother home?" As he asked this the front door swung open and her mother walked in dripping on the floor.

"Ugh she just walked in. Mum, it's Daddy."

Smiling, Daralea took the phone in her hand.

Lily whispered to her mother, "I can bring him a quick dinner." And went about packing the stew in a large thermos and wrapping some warm bread in a kitchen towel and placing in a tin lunch box. After a brief, good-natured argument on the phone, Daralea won out.

"Nonsense, you need to eat. Lily is on her way and will have it to you in a few minutes. I'll see you tonight. I love you." Then she hung up.

Lily smiled at her mother and pulled on her coat and hat.

"Thank you Lily. I'm going to take a shower and we'll eat when you get back."

"Okay. And then you can fill me in on who Mrs. Taylor and her new…"

"Healthy baby boy!"

"Love you, Mum." She kissed her mother quickly on cheek, pulled the dinner in a backpack and headed out the door. She jumped on her bicycle and peddled away from the house with the rain flooding in her face.

Daralea Evans walked up to the bathroom she shared with her husband, showered and changed into warm clothes. As she walked down to the kitchen, she caught the delicious smell of stew and was grateful for her thoughtful daughter. She set the table and waited for her daughter to return. She watched the stew simmer on the stove.

After a few minutes, she heard a tentative knocking on the front door. Praying it wasn't because of another woman in labor, Daralea opened the door to a black-haired teenage boy with lopsided glasses.

Through chattering teeth he said, "Mrs. Evans? Your daughter isn't Lily is she?"

Uncertainly, Daralea replied "Yes?"

The boy obviously relieved, "Finally. Do you know how many Evans' there are in Cokeworth? …Umm… Anyway… I'm James Potter and it is very important that I speak with Lily. Is she home?"

"James Potter? She has mentioned you" taking note of his visible wince she continued, "It's not all bad. You received mixed reviews. Come in, James."


	2. Light Breaks Through the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit to previous content: I changed some dialogue. It felt too forced previously.

**Chapter 2: Light Breaks Through the Clouds**

Relief and wonder flooded through James. Relief because James had spent the day on broomstick fighting wind and rain. When he arrived to Cokeworth, he stowed his broom in his magical backpack. He then proceeded to walk around knocking on doors of various Evans' families for the better part of three hours. Wonder because Lily Evans had mentioned him to her mother and it wasn't  _ all _ bad. His relief, however, was short lived. The woman in front of him abruptly stopped and turned on her heel to face him. He stumbled over himself in haste to avoid running into her, barely managing to stay on his feet. She forced him to remain in the entrance of the house. James, normally self-assured, felt uneasy. He was starting to wonder if he had made a grievous error coming here. 

With a sharp eye that painfully reminded James of the younger Evans, "Not so fast, let me get you a towel. You look like a drowned rat."

He sheepishly obeyed her command and waited in the entryway. When she resurfaced from another room in the house, she handed him a towel and dry clothes that looked laughably too large for his frame.

"You will need to dry off. I brought you some of my husband's clothes, I'm afraid they are probably too big, but we can hang your clothes by the fire and they should dry out in about an hour…"

Shivering, he took the dry towel and clothes gratefully. "Thank You…" James started but stopped when he met her piercing eyes. James could not decide if she was looking at him disapprovingly or not. He hoped not.

"How did you get here anyway? And where are you from?" She probed suspiciously, her sharp tone made him wince again.

Nervously, his hand flew to his head and ruffled his hair. "I… er… I flew from a small town just southwest of Glasgow."

"You flew?"

"Yes. Mrs. Evans. I flew."

"On a broomstick?"

Fighting the urge to make a sarcastic comment, James simply replied, "Er. Yes."

"That's right. You are the Quidditch captain of Gryffindor! Lily told me you were especially good."

"She said that? Really? About me?" He grinned with his confidence rising.

"She also said you were well aware of your own talent. So I don't think I need to repeat it." She replied sternly.

"Right." He said, slightly crestfallen. His hand flew back to the base of his skull.

"Wouldn't it be pretty dangerous to fly by broomstick across the country, let alone in this weather?" She said in a kinder tone, but still held the firmness of a mother lioness.

"I suppose. Yes. It was." James could barely look her in the eye. He hadn't expected Evans' mother to be so fierce, but he realized that was a foolish lack of forethought.

"Do your parents know where you are?"

"I may have led them to believe I was flying just a few towns over to visit my friend, Remus.” 

“You lied to your parents?”

“Technically I didn't actually lie."

"James," she said firmly, "Being deceitful is lying.” After an uncomfortable pause, “Well, you're here now, I reckon; what you have to say to Lily must be important if you lied and risked your neck."

Irritated, but not wanting to cross this woman or appear disrespectful, James simply replied, "It is important, Mrs. Evans"

"Does this have to do about that Snape boy?”

Alarmed, James said nothing, but gaped at Mrs. Evans.

“We haven't seen or heard from him once this summer and when I ask Lily about him, she tells me they aren't really friends anymore."

"It does Mrs. Evans. Wait. I don’t understand. You know Sniv-Snape?"

"I should hope so. Severus has been her friend for the better part of seven years. Lily told me you had a penchant for being unkind to that boy."

"I do. But to be fair, he is a git and half the time he starts it and I don't think I am solely responsible for their falling out. I… I… might have been a... I may have been… I think that…" James was speaking so fast he was stumbling over his words. Panicked he wondered what it was about the Evans’ women that made him feel like he was standing on moving ground when normally he felt so sure of himself. 

“A catalyst perhaps?” Mrs. Evans supplied.

With that, James nodded, not sure what else to say. 

"Don't let Iain know that.” Mrs. Evans said rolling her eyes. “He will shake your hand, he never liked Severus much. But that doesn't change what is right and wrong! You know, you should be kind to everyone, not just your friends. Most people are fighting demons you know nothing about."

"I… don't follow." James nearly whispered, he was truly unsure of what was happening. Was this a conversation? Was he being lectured? What kind of introduction was this? 

"I am not particularly fond of Severus. Lord knows he has never been kind to anyone but Lily as far as I can tell. He doesn't seem to care for, what is the term you call non-magical people again? Regular people?"

"Muggle?"

"Yes. He does not like muggles and for good reason, I suppose. His mother is a witch and his father is a muggle. As well as a cruel, hard man. Tobias has made a broken woman out of Eileen, and a miserable child out of his son. You might do well to remember that before you torment and tease him at school."

"Yes Mrs. Evans." James shifted his weight, his eyes downcast and clearly uncomfortable with the conversation and his own mounting guilt. He wanted desperately to tell Mrs. Evans that despite who his father was, Snape was still a slimy git, but he kept that remark to himself. 

"What are you waiting for? You are shaking like a leaf! I would not be surprised you caught pneumonia tomorrow. The bathroom is right through here." She motioned toward the end of the hall at the base of the stairs. James chanced a look at Mrs. Evans. She was smiling softly.

"Thank You, Mrs. Evans." He awkwardly returned her smile.

"When you're done, we'll wait in the kitchen for Lily. She should be back any minute. I'll put on some tea. And you will be staying for dinner. That is not negotiable. You look like a ghost. I shudder to think when you last ate something! And I don't want you flying home the way you came. We will make safer arrangements."

James felt her hands pull off his soaking coat and he watched as she placed it on a drying rack by the fire in the sitting. She gave him a soft shove in the direction of the end of the hall. His weak smile widened and walked to the bathroom, careful not to drip for fear of another lecture. 

….

Lily's heart and lungs ached as she peddled away from factory. She saw her father for barely a minute before he had to go, but he assured her he would eat in the car as he drove to the site of the downed line. Her nerves tensed as she passed by the Snape residence on Spindler’s End. She could see lights through the windows and a human shaped shadow. She was painfully aware of who was sitting in the window looking out at the street. She commanded her legs to work harder. Her muscles seared with effort as she crossed the bridge overlooking the murky river that ran through Cokeworth. Freezing rain blew unmercifully in her eyes. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her clothes were clinging uncomfortably to her body. After a few more minutes of effort she finally saw her small townhouse approaching in the distance. Hurriedly, she dismounted her bike and locked it to the front porch next to her mother's bike.

As she rushed into the door in an effort to get out of the rain, she called out to her mother, "Mum! I'm back. Daddy doesn't think he will be too late."

Her mother stood in the junction between the hall and the kitchen looking at her with a strange expression.

"Lily, one of your classmates dropped in. He says he flew all the way from Glasgow."

"What?" Lily asked slightly distracted. Her thoughts remained on the figure in the window. 

“You have a friend here. He says he flew.”

“What?” Lily’s thoughts snapped back to the present. Suddenly scared, “Mum you can’t be letting strangers from my world in here.” Lily quickly moved past her mother and her eyes landed on James Potter. He was sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea and presumably waiting for dinner. His hair was damp, but it remained as untidy as ever. Her brief fear was replaced with shock. She looked at him dumbfounded.

"Are you insane?" She asked in a deadpan voice. She watched as his right hand left the teacup and messed his hair. Lily suddenly felt irritated.

"Maybe. I was asking myself that most of the day." He grinned at her. She looked at her mother for help.

"He says he needs to talk to you."

"You never replied to my letter." He said quietly.

"I don't… I… What?" Lily’s eyes left Potter and she looked at her mother helplessly. 

"Lily, why don't you go clean up and change into dry clothes. We'll have dinner. You let the boy say his piece. Then you can help him figure out how to get home that doesn’t involve flying on a broomstick in a hurricane.”

Lily felt a blush creep up her neck. She was suddenly painfully aware of the ugly brown sweater adhering to her torso. She hoped Potter hadn't noticed. Her hair was matted to her forehead and her ripped jeans clinging just as uncomfortably to her legs. She nodded and walked out of the kitchen before anyone would notice her blush deepened.

Once at her closet she stripped off her clothes and opted for high-waisted bell-bottoms and a sapphire blue sweater. She quickly put on wool socks and looked at her hair in the mirror. It was a disaster; she rummaged through a drawer looking for a brush and haphazardly worked out the knots that had formed under her hat. She quickly plaited her hair at the base of her neck into a long braid and brought it in front of her left shoulder. She glanced at her makeup. She grabbed some lipstick, and hurriedly smeared it on her lips, then muttered to herself, “What am I doing?” She wiped it off, glanced again in the mirror and left her room. She then walked cautiously back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Her mother said grace and they ate quietly.

"James, what is your favorite subject?" Her mother asked after several long awkward minutes.

James, who had been shoveling stew in his mouth at an impressive pace, paused and thought for a second. Confidently he said, "Transfiguration. Although Defense Against the Dark Arts can be good, too." He helped himself to seconds.

"Lily, you always do well in that class."

"Potter is better." Lily said with more bite in her voice than she intended. James felt his ears burn.

After an uncomfortable pause, James said, "This is delicious, Mrs. Evans!"

With a laugh, Daralea Evans said, "Did you even taste it going down? It is pretty good, but I can't take any credit. Lily made dinner."

James looked up sharply and caught Lily's eye. She looked down staring resolutely back into her stew.

"Well it's very good. Thank you, Ev… Lily."

After a few more moments of shattering silence, Daralea Evans cleared the table and made more tea.

"I'm going up to my room. Let me know before you leave, dear, and I will say goodbye." Lily glanced to her mother, distressed. Her mother returned her look with a wink. She took her tea and left the room.

When Lily heard the last step creek and her mother's bedroom door close, Lily turned and considered the boy in front of her harshly.

"What are you doing here?" Lily hissed.

"I needed to talk to you."

"So, you flew here, in the storm of the century, unannounced and unwelcome!" Lily retorted in a harsh whisper.

"Look you refused to talk to me at school. You hexed me on the train home and you didn't return my letter! What was I supposed to do?"

"Not fly across the country! Obviously, I don't want to talk to you! What do you not understand? You always do what you want with disregard to others. As long as you get a laugh, right? Well I’m not laughing. This isn’t funny. You can’t just show up here. You are so focused on yourself you never-"

"EVANS! Will you just listen for one second? I just want you to know I'm sorry, okay? That’s it. You don't need to forgive me! You don't need to forget. I just need you to know I'm really sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have been picking on Snape. I know, but sometimes he just…" James caught her angry eye and changed tactic. "I… I… picked a fight with Snape… I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfire and I'm sorry you lost your friend and I'm sorry you were hurt. I can't take it back. I wish I could. I was an idiot, we both know that I am an idiot. I'm just sorry! I’m sorry I embarrassed you. I shouldn’t have asked you to go out with me. That was stupid. I’m sorry. Okay Evans! I just…” He paused and heaved a heavy sigh. “I really don’t want you to hate me. I can't handle you hating me. I think so highly of you and it eats at me knowing you hate me!"

By the end of his outburst, his hazel eyes were fixed desperately on her, searching her for some reaction. They looked at each other, both in shock. Then she felt the horrible, persistent grief bubbled up again from inside her chest. It was boiling now. She couldn't stop it. She clasped her hands over her face in attempt to hide hot, humiliated tears.

Startled, "What?! No. no. no. no. no. no. Lily… No. Don't cry… I didn't want to make you cry! Please don't cry." He pushed his chair so that it was directly next to her and apprehensively put his hand on her shoulder. She tensed, but didn't shake it off. He started rubbing her shoulder in small, what he hoped was, soothing circles, though it felt more awkward than anything. 

"Lily, please don't cry. I'm sorry, Lily." His voice was strained, but gentle. "Please, Lily. I'm so sorry… Lily, please look at me."

Behind her hands she gave a muffled whisper, “I’m not crying.”

“I know I’m not great girls. We both know I don’t have a lot of experience in the area, but I’m pretty sure you are indeed crying.”

She took a few deep breaths and brushed the tears out of her eyes, but they continued to form and fall against her will. Failing to stop the tears, she looked up.

"I don't hate you." She said so quietly he barely heard it. His eyes searched her face, he was visibly pained.

"I'm still sorry." he said, his face miserable.

Lily mirthlessly laughed through the tears. "I know. I am too."

"Are you crying because of me… or… umm…?"

"I don't think so… no. I'm not."

He put his arm around her shoulders. She froze again for a second, and then she leaned into him.

"Does this mean we're friends?"

She laughed again. "No, we aren't friends."

"What? Why not? I’ve seen you cry Lily Evans. Friends see friends cry."

"Your friends have seen you cry?”

“No. Of course not.” He scoffed and grinned. “We can be friends though.”

“I don't know, Potter. I'm not friends with toe rags."

"I am a toe rag. Aren't I?" He sighed, admitting defeat with a little smile.

"You are. A smelly one." she retorted and he laughed.

"If I became… I dunno… not a toe rag, could we friends?"

She gave him a friendly push away from her and looked him in the eye.

"Could you do that?" He smiled the first full smile she saw on him that night. His glasses tilted to one side. Her heart gave a little flutter.

“That’s a tall order, Evans. You are asking me to change who I am.”

They were both silent for a few moments. He continued, “I mean, this is a kind of friendship. An unrequited friendship. I want to know your thoughts and feelings and care about your general well-being. You think I’m a toe rag… I guess it works out to be neutral. A neutral friendship.”

She considered him, “Maybe I could be neutral with a toe rag”

"Brilliant."

They sat for a few moments, not saying anything. Lily glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Night was creeping forward at a startling pace.

"You should be getting home." She stood up and walked out of the room to the living room. She made her way towards the fire that was happily dancing in the hearth. He wildly ran in front of her, blocking her view of his clothes drying on the rack.

"Don't look at that! My underwear is over there! You are beautiful, Evans, don't get me wrong! But currently the only woman allowed to see my bloomers is my mum!"

“What? You aren’t wearing underwear? What is wrong with you?” She looked him in the eye. His face was dancing with humor and mischief. She couldn’t quite read his expression, she thought maybe he was having her on.

He nodded with feigned solemnity, “Not underwear. or pants, but bloomers, Evans. lacy ones. They really boost my confidence.” For the first time that summer she laughed a full laugh. Her laughter was filled with joy she hadn't felt it weeks. His face split into a wide grin. 

"Alright." She chortled again. "You get your clothes on and I'll go get my coat and let my mum know you're leaving. There is a wizarding pub down the road a ways. It has a connection to the Floo network. I've used it a couple times to get to London. Why didn't you just Floo in?

"I didn't know this pub existed." He shrugged.

“You could have taken the Knight Bus.”

In disbelief he said, “I didn’t even think of that!” He slapped his forehead. “I am an idiot.” 

“You are. Do you want to take it home?”

Sheepishly, he responded, “I didn’t bring any money.”

She shook her head in exasperation. 

….

Mrs. Evans said goodbye and they made their way down the street on foot. They were bundled up. But still felt the chill from the unseasonable cool air. However, it had stopped raining and even some moonlight was peering through the clouds.

After a few moments of contented silence, James lightly bumped Lily's shoulder with a playful smirk on his face and glasses going lopsided again.

"Evans. I have a very serious question to ask you." She looked at him waiting. "Is your dad part giant? He must be huge! The only person bigger than him has to be Hagrid" she raised her eyebrows in surprise. She wasn’t sure what he was going to ask, but that is not what she had expected. 

“What?” She said, a weak smile creeping onto her face.

James pretended to think, “Not giant… troll maybe? You know Irish trolls have the red hair, which explains yours.” He gently tugged on her braid. 

Lily snorted and smacked his hand away “Or my mum is actually Irish, you idiot.”

“Okay okay. Sheesh. No need for name calling.” He smiled cheekily at her. “Not giant or troll then.” He snapped his fingers suddenly. “Of course! You are Muggleborn! Obviously your dad wouldn’t be part giant or troll. I got it, your dad is part bear! Only reasonable explanation.” She laughed a full, joyful laugh and gently smacked his arm.

"This is serious! Your mum scared the shit out of me. Should I be terrified of your father? Did you see how I swam in his clothes? It was ludicrous." he chuckled, shaking his head slightly in mock disbelief. 

She looked James up and down and for the first time saw that he was fairly tall, too. He was about a head taller than her, at least. Did he grow in the six weeks since she saw him last?

Nonchalantly she replied, "He's 6'6""

"What?" James exclaimed in mock shock. "So he is a bear! I knew it. Next time I come, I'm bringing a suit of armor."

“You do know Dumbledore is taller, right?” She added as an afterthought more than anything.

“Only because he wears high heels.”

“He does not!” Lily laughed. 

“Care to make a wager?”

“Let me think. No.”

“Then you concede Dumbledore is tall, because he wears high heels.”

She gave him a withering look. “Okay. I’ll make a bet. but the loser has to do something embarrassing at the discretion of the winner. Terms are if Dumbledore wears heels-”

“His favorite are the heeled-boots with the gold buckle.”

“IF Dumbledore is wearing high heels at the welcome feast, then you are declared the winner and I am declared the loser. If he is wearing a shoe without an exaggerated heel, then I am the winner and you are declared the loser.”

James cheerfully nodded and said, “Evans, you will soon learn, I am very perceptive to fashion. Especially, Dumbledore’s as it is completely unreasonable. You have yourself a deal. but just to be safe, I will drop our headmaster a note telling him how much i love his heeled-boots with the gold buckle.”

“They are not heeled! And what do you know about being unreasonable? You are the most unreasonable person I know.”

James raised his eyebrows, “Time will tell, Evans.”

They walked a little further, falling back into comfortable silence again.

"Well, here it is." She stopped in front of a brick building with vines growing up the side and wild looking flowers planted in the pots on the step.

He stopped beside her, stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet.

"Take care of yourself, Evans." After a beat. "I have to be honest; part of why I came was to see if you were alright."

"What are talking about?"

"Haven't you read the prophet this summer?"

She shook her head a blush creeping into her face. "I felt badly asking my parents for the money to get it." She gestured to the gloomy city around her. "As you can see, I live in luxury." She said, trying to sound light and carefree. While Lily’s family was well off in comparison to many within her community, Cokeworth was rank with poverty. Lily was well aware of the value of money, and often fretted for her family’s financial wellbeing. 

Ears growing hot, James felt very uncomfortable with that statement. Unsure of what to say or do he continued on, "Oh…. Well, it's been… ugh… it’s been a complete mess, Evans. Muggles and muggleborns have gone missing or have been attacked.”

She nodded sadly, “I know.”

“Death eaters caused this storm… Looks like the ministry finally got a grip." He said, looking up to the sky. "I can write and send you clippings with the latest news, if… if… you want."

Lily took in what he was saying and nodded slowly. "Oh." She looked at the ground and scuffed her shoe on sidewalk then looked back at him. "Keeping me informed would be a very un-toe-rag-like thing of you to do."

He smiled. "Great. Well, see you, Evans." He said lightly, then in a softer, more serious tone, "be careful."

"Bye, Potter" She turned and started walking back from where they came. She stopped then looked back over her shoulder. He was standing where she left him, watching her walk away. She called out, "You too." She then turned back and hurried home.

As she approached her house, she saw her father's car parked on the street in front of their house. She walked past her parent's bedroom. She could hear them talking in low whispers to each other. She continued to her room. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She smiled and thought to herself,  _ I don't know of another person that would fly across all of bloody Britain during a historical storm… but James Potter did. The idiot. The stupid sweet idiot.  _ She exhaled a breath she felt as though she had been holding the whole evening. She was surprised to realize wasn't actually all that surprised. She fell asleep smiling softly to herself, having forgotten all about Severus Snape. 


	3. Dry Lightening Strikes the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited the previous chapter slightly, just some dialogue between James and Lily and some editing of grammar mistakes. I added a minor plot change, but nothing of too much substance. I was trying to add some silliness and make James seem a little more natural, i picture James as slightly goofy juxtaposed to Lily's seriousness. If you have read the previous one, let me know what you think of the changes. Or not.

**Chapter 3: Dry Lightning Strikes the Heart**

10 days had passed since the infamous “Potter Visit” to the Evans household. Lily had heard her parents whispering about it with each other, but she had successfully avoided talking to her parents about it. With the new school year approaching, Lily grew confident that she could continue to avoid the subject. During those 10 days, James wrote to Lily four times. Each time it was nothing more than a line or two. It was always silly joke with attached chippings from the newspaper, to Lily’s amusement he had doodled a mustache, top hat, monocle, absurd eyebrows or the like. And each time Lily snickered at the indignant moving figures in the photographs, shook her head and muttered, “stupid” under her breath as she penned a short reply along the lines of “Very funny.”

During those ten days, the sun finally broke through and summer weather was upon the citizens of Cokeworth. And it was sweltering. Her school list had also arrived. 

On the second to last Friday of August, Lily and her parents were preparing for a short trip to London where they would do her school shopping and (to Lily’s apprehension) visit Petunia. 

“Lil. Dar. Let’s go. I want to avoid traffic.” Lily’s father, Iain Evans called from the bottom of the stairs. 

Lily glanced at her room and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She wore a floral sundress with a crocheted lace neck line. She picked it because she knew it would annoy her sister who wouldn’t be caught dead in something so colorful, whimsical, or crocheted. Her hair fell to the middle of her back in loose waves with a stylish headband donned on her forehead. 

“Lily! You look lovely. Let’s go before your dad has kittens.” Her mother said from her bedroom door, her accent heavier than usual. Lily knew this to be a sign that her mother was flustered. 

Lily made her way into the backseat of the car. Her parents talked quietly about their work, friends, church, and weather in the front seat as Lily watched the changing landscape. The concrete and bricks of Cokeworth were fading as green pastures appeared in her view. Lily sighed, content with her new view.

“Lil, are you going to tell me anything about this Potter boy?”

Lily looked up at her father, slightly startled, catching his eye in the rear-view mirror. She glanced at her mother who was smiling wryly. Over the years, Lily had mentioned Potter to her parents, but she didn’t remember ever going into detail. They had always been interested in her friends, classmates. Her father was particularly interested to know more information about any boys in her life. Now that this specific boy had shown up on their doorstep, their curiosity was blossoming.

“No.”

“Nothing?”

“No, Dad.”

“Is he your friend?”

After a beat, “No. Not really.”

“He’s been writing to her” Mrs. Evans chimed in. 

“Mum!” 

“What? He has! I saw those silly little notes and pictures in your room.”

“Mum! What are you doing going through my things?” Lily said, slightly horrified, the pitch in her voice raising ever so slightly. 

“I was emptying your rubbish bin by your desk. You didn’t try to hide them. They were out in the open. They were cute.”

“She kept these little notes?” her father asked, bemused. 

“Oh yes!” Her mother said enthusiastically. 

Lily groaned and looked back out the window, determined to not talk about Potter, of all people, with her parents. 

“Do you like him, Lil?” Her mother asked

“No! Of course I don’t like him.”

“I don’t believe her, Dar. Do you?”

Lily’s mother looked back at her. “I don’t know.”

Agitated, Lily said, “You two planned this.”

“Can’t escape conversation while in a car, Lil.” Her father explained gently from the driver’s seat. 

Catching a glimpse of her father’s gentle expression and kind smile, Lily’s irritation softened. “Fine. I’ll tell you about him. But I don’t like him. We aren’t friends. We are classmates… and housemates... That’s it.” 

Lily took a deep breath and huffed it out, “I’m not sure where to start with Potter.”

“The beginning is good. Start with when you met him.” Her mother prompted her. 

Lily described their first meeting how she met him on the train. He was skinny and short then, but what he lacked in physical size he made up for in personality. He was boisterous and obnoxious and a know-it-all. She told her parents about his friends and their annoying antics and pranks, though she did admit that some could be quite funny. She explained how extremely aggravating it was that he excelled at nearly everything he did with seemingly very little effort. She told her parents about how his head inflated three times when he made the Gryffindor Quidditch team in second year, the only second year to do so, then became the captain in forth year. He was the youngest captain in the school and had the longest winning streak. She told her parents the he broke countless rules and somehow managed to charm his way out of serious trouble every time. She told her parents that the professor that seemed to love him the most was the strictest in the whole school and she couldn’t figure out why McGonagall seemed to have such a soft spot for him. She left out his ongoing feud with Severus, not wanting to talk about Severus or explain the word “mudblood” to her parents who were unaware of the bigotry Lily faced. She knew it would break their hearts to be disillusioned by the magical world. 

“… so that’s James Potter I guess. He is charming and funny and smart, but also careless and chaotic. James Potter is just… he’s that.” Lily finished lamely. She realized that she had been talking for almost an hour and felt embarrassment creeping up her neck and into her cheeks.

“He sounds very popular.”

“He is. Mum, people worship the ground he walks on.” Lily said, rolling her eyes.

“And you don’t like him?” her father asked.

“No.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“I’m neutral.” Lily said softly, remembering their conversation as she walked him to the Floo connection, her chest and neck growing hot and blotchy from embarrassment.

“I like him.” Her mother said merrily. “He seems lively.”

“Me too.” Her father agreed. 

“Daddy, you haven’t met him!”

Her dad chuckled then changed the subject to talk about a local football player that was the son of a man he worked with at the factory. Lily turned her eyes to look out the window once again, her cheeks hot for reasons that bewildered her. 

A while later, they arrived in London and made their way to Diagon Alley. Upon entering The Leaky Cauldron, Lily and her parents laid eyes on a friendly familiar face. 

“Evans Family! My goodness! It’s great to see you! I’ve heard nothing but good things about Lily from Hogwarts!” The voice of ministry official Kevin Todd boomed across the pub. 

Kevin Todd, with sandy hair, matching beard with gray specks throughout, and warm friendly eyes approached them with a sunny smile. Mr. Todd was a Wizarding World-Muggleborns Liaison for the Ministry of Magic. One of his responsibilities was to approach witches and wizards from muggle parents and explain to them what they were. He was perfect for the job, having been muggleborn himself, and he had a certain quality that made Lily feel valued and heard. Although Lily had known she was a witch thanks to her friendship of Severus, she will never forget the sense of awe and wonder she experienced when Mr. Todd revealed the magical world to her during their first trip to London. With Mr. Todd, she was able to experience this new magical world without the filter of Severus, and it was beautiful. 

Mr. Evans reached out for a hand shake, “Kevin, wonderful to see you. It seems like just yesterday you trying to convince me my daughter was a witch.”

“I remember it well, Iain.” Mr. Todd laughed. Their initial meeting had been tense to say the least. Mr. Evans was greatly offended when two strange men knocked on his front door and accused his eleven year old daughter of being a witch. Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore and Mr. Todd were able to defuse Mr. and Mrs. Evans promptly enough and convince them of Lily’s magic. In the end it wasn’t a trying task because they offered an explanation to the strange things that always seemed to happen around Lily since she was an infant. At the end of each introduction, Mr. Todd arranged a trip with each muggleborn and their families to Diagon Alley to help navigate their first trip into the wizarding world. 

“I hope we weren’t too difficult on you.” Mrs. Evans said with a smile.

Grinning up Mr. Evans, “Nah, it was a pretty normal response. I was nervous Iain here would hit me, though. It wouldn’t have been the first time, mind you, but it may have been the last time!”

They reminisced a few minutes longer, Mr. Todd asked Lily about her classes, then he said, “My ten o’clock should be arriving shortly, I should go outside and wait for them. It’s a busy day! I have two more appointments this afternoon.” 

They said their goodbyes and went about their day. Lily was able to gather all her school supplies and get fitted for some new robes. She tried to tell her parents secondhand was fine, but they refused. As their shopping came to an end and they were walking back into muggle London her father said, sounding tired and smiling sadly, “Lil, I don’t think I will ever get used to that.”

“I know. Me too, Dad.”

“We need to move along if we are going to be on time to meet Petunia on time. She was very clear not to be late.” Her mother said behind them. 

A short time later, Lily and her parents found themselves in front of a posh looking café. Urgently, Mrs. Evans grabbed Lily’s arm. “Please do not torment your sister. You know how she is. No toads of any kind. No frogs. No …”

“I promise to behave, Mum. No amphibians of any kind will be conjured to torment Tuney.”

“Thank You.” And with that exchanged, they entered the café to meet Petunia, Lily feeling a little disheartened.

They found her dressed in a navy blue cotton dressed pressed to perfection. To their surprise, Petunia was not alone. She was with a rather large young man, a few years older than her. He had a round face, and seemed to be trying, unsuccessfully, to grow a mustache. He was wearing a starched beige collared shirt and stiffly ironed trousers. 

“Mum! Daddy!” Petunia made her way over to them, “I have a surprise for you, I want to introduce you to someone.” She ushered them over to the man. “This is Vernon. He is my boyfriend. Vernon, this is my family. My mother, Daralea Evans. And my father, Iain Evans. And…” Petunia faltered, her eyes landing on Lily. “This is my sister, Lily.” She added with a stiffness in her voice that paralleled her boring blue dress, but Lily noticed her purple stud earrings shaped like the bloom of a violet. A rush of affection erupted in Lily’s chest for her sister. She smiled genuinely at her sister, remembering their mutual fondness for violets and johnny-jump-ups as children. Those were the only flowers they could grow consistently in their tiny flower beds as children. Petunia met Lily’s smile with a small, timid one.

“Hi, Lil” Petunia said quietly. 

“Hey, Petunia. I like your earrings.”

Petunia’s face glowed slightly, she looked like she might say something but was interrupted. 

“Good Good! Terrific to meet you!” Vernon’s voice echoed a little too loudly through the café. He eyed, Lily, apparently not sure what to say to her. Lily heard him whisper to Petunia as they made their way to their table to enjoy lunch, “You are quite right. She  _ is _ rather plain.” 

Lily, felt a surge of agitation that did not ease as meal progressed. Vernon talked nearly the entire time and almost completely about himself. Lily looked over to her parents, her mother politely nodded her head and smiled in a way that Lily felt was a little strained. He father was staring at Vernon, and he seemed to have gone pale, his eyes fixed in a look that Lily decided could only be horror. She changed her attention to the flowers on the table and focused on the details within petals to try and distract herself away from the conversation. As her mind wandered, she felt a sharp kick to her shins and looked up to Petunia across from her. Petunia was angry, Lily realized that she had been absent-mindedly making the petals open and close. Lily was mortified. What made it worse, Vernon noticed. 

“I’ve never seen flowers act that way. Waiter!” He called the waiter over and said aggressively “What is the meaning of this?”

“Sir, I’m not sure what you mean.” The waiter responded.

“There are bugs in these! I’m shocked, this is supposed to be an upstanding restaurant, but this standards like these…”

“Now, Now. There is no harm done” Mr. Evans began, obviously angry with Vernon.

Vernon blustered, “Well! Remove them! I ought to call the health inspector!” Vernon insisted, turning a nasty purple color. 

With that, the flowers were removed and nervous employees examined the flowers with confused faces. Petunia huffed angrily across from Lily who smiled nervously at no one in particular. 

Vernon appearing slightly proud, continued on describing drills, and posh automobiles, and giving his strong opinion about proper lawn maintenance techniques. 

The meal finally came to an end, and Mrs. Evans suggested a walk in the park nearby. Lily’s stomach sank, she wanted this outing to end, but she promised her mother she would behave a put on a good face for Petunia. 

As they walked through the grass towards and brightly, bubbling fountain, to everyone’s surprise Vernon asked Lily, “So, tell me about your school. Petunia has told me you go to a prep school up in Scotland. That’s a little odd.”

“Is it?” Lily asked quietly.

“Yes. Why would you go to a school in the middle of nowhere? Are you sent away?” It was clear that this jab was meant as a joke, but no one laughed. Petunia attempted a giggle, and desperately changed the subject. Vernon continued to eye her, clearly he was suspicious of her. 

Lily decided that she didn’t like Vernon. She looked towards a tree, just so she could look at anything besides her sister and her sister’s boyfriend. She noticed a bluebird and thought it was strange to see one in the city. She watched as the bird took flight over petunia and Vernon, released liquid white excrement that splattered all over the two of them leaving Vernon roaring and Petunia squealing. Amazed, two more birds appeared and did the same thing. Lily laughed, unable to help herself.

Mrs. Evans turned to fuss at Lily for laughing when her face turned to fright. “Iain!” her mother gasped. Lily whipped around to look at her father, he had gone very disturbing shade of gray and was clutching his chest. Sweat dripped from his grimacing face. He glanced at his wife, before losing consciousness and collapsing in the grass.   
  
Lily ran forward, towards her father. He wasn’t breathing. Through tears, Lily pounded on his chest. Her mother was quickly next to her. Lily vaguely heard Vernon behind her calling to a stranger to phone an ambulance. Lily felt dread seeping into her bones. Desperately Lily continued to strike on her father’s chest willing him to breathe. To do something. Her mother was sobbing, but pushed Lily aside to start CPR. Her sister was hysterical beside her. Lily held her father’s hand, helpless. Just as Lily succumbed to loss and grief, her father gave a shuddering breath.

Iain Evans, was breathing, but barely. 

Lily watched as her father was loaded into the back of an ambulance, her mother climbed into the back to accompany her father as they were ushered away to the nearest hospital. Lily found that her fingers were intertwined with the fingers of Petunia. They looked at each other, blinking through tears and fear. Vernon, to his credit, drove Lily and Petunia to the hospital where they were dreading what they would find. 

  
  



	4. Realizing the Forecast

A few miles away, James Potter and his father, Fleamont Potter entered into the Leaky Cauldron. James walked up to Tom, the innkeeper, who smiled fondly at James.

“James, what will it be?”

James pretended to think and with a wry grin, “I’ll take a firewhiskey.”

Tom laughed, and James could hear his father’s exasperated sigh behind him, “Nice try. Gillywater and a butterbeer, please.” Fleamont ruffled his son’s hair affectionately. “Are you hungry?” 

James shook his head as he accepted his butterbeer giving his father a playful push. As Fleamont engaged into conversation with Tom, James gazed around the pub, suddenly bored. His father would probably be engaged in conversation for a while. His eyes landed on the table next to him, where a small girl with strawberry blond hair sat with her parents on either side of her and a sandy-haired man from the ministry across the table from them. The girl looked both nervous and excited. Her mother, though, looked scared. James overheard the woman ask, “But does it matter? Rosa wasn’t raised in your world, will she be starting behind?” 

Frowning slightly James listened as the ministry official explained muggleborns are rarely behind. The mother was obviously not convinced and shifting in her seat, James interjected, “Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help overhearing. No, it doesn’t matter. Not one bit. The top witch in my year is muggleborn. You have nothing to worry about.” James tried to assure them with a bright smile. The girl grinned shyly back at him. 

“James, are you on about that Evans girl again?” Fleamont turned around and his face lit up. “Kevin! Always a pleasure.” He reached over and heartedly shook the ministry official’s hand. Fleamont Potter seemed to know everyone, and the strangers he did meet weren’t strangers for long. “My son is right. Nothing to fear. You will fit right in at Hogwarts.” He reached his hand out to shake the man and woman’s hand, “Fleamont Potter, and my son, James Potter. But please, call me Monty.” He added winking at Rosa. 

“Joseph Smith. This is my wife Eliza and our daughter Rosa.” The man said. “So you like Hogwarts?” He directed his question at James. 

“Yes. It’s one of the best places on earth. There loads to learn, for everyone.”

“Hogwarts is better than it has ever been. I daresay, Dumbledore is the best headmaster the school has ever seen. The man is a genius, and always good for a game of gobstones!” 

“You know Lily Evans?” Kevin Todd asked James

“Er. Yeah. She’s in my year and in my house. She’s…” He looked thoughtfully at the family in front of him. “She’s...” James faltered. 

“Bloody brilliant but a pain in the arse. That’s all I hear about her.” Fleamont interjected, “I think my son might be in love with her.” James reddened and went to protest, but couldn’t find the words. His father loved to tease him. The girl giggled and james sent her a sheepish look. 

“I’m not in love with her,” he said to no one in particular, running his hand through his hair in frustration. 

“I wouldn’t doubt it if several boys your age were enchanted by her, lovely girl. I had the pleasure of having this very meeting with her six years ago.” Mr. Todd motioned to the Muggles in front of him. 

“You say she is doing alright, then? Even being born without magical parents?” The mother asked, a little forcefully.

“Better than alright.” James said. His face still burning. 

“Muggleborns tend to do just fine, they are always on par with all the others.” Monty assured the couple and their daughter. 

They talked for a few minutes longer, but once the Potters finished their drinks, Monty announced, “We best be moving on. Long to-do list to accomplish today, I’m afraid.” Monty patted his son on the shoulder and steered them to Diagon Alley, with James’ booklist in hand. 

James and his father made their way through Diagon Alley. It seemed emptier than usual, but somehow Monty seemed to manage a conversation with every person he came across. It was a slow-going process much to James’ annoyance. James, growing tired of small talk, asked his father if he could go on ahead and finish his back-to-school shopping, then meet his father at Quality Quidditch Supplies. His father, distracted and in a deep, serious conversation with Clifford Abbott, gave his son a nod of agreement. 

A half an hour later, James stood outside the shop admiring the newest racing brooms from the window, when he noticed Rosa and her parents entering Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour with the cheerful Mr. Todd. James smiled and waved to her and she returned in kind. 

James turned back to the window to study the racing brooms in the window when an explosion propelled him forward through the glass window. Addled, James stood vaguely aware that his palms and face were bleeding. He adjusted his now splintering glasses and peered out the window as the shop owner helped him stand. With panic, James realized the source of the explosion came from Fortesue’s and bolted forward. He entered the shop through the now blown apart doorway to find Rosa’s parents staring blankly at the ceiling, flat on their backs, not seeing. James felt nausea creep up from the pit of his core. He had a sickening suspicion that they were dead. 

He glanced around and found Rosa cowering behind an overturned table, but his attention was drawn and Mr. Todd screamed in agony as four hooded figures laughed maliciously above him

“Nasty little mudblood bringing more mudbloods to Diagon Alley.” A woman said behind her mask. “Crucio” She said in a deadly whisper.

The man screamed again and James, overcoming his shock, shouted “STUPIFY!”

Red sparks flew from the tip of James’ wand and hit the woman, unsuspectingly in the center of her forehead. She fell backward in an odd graceful arch and all the figures turned their attention to James. Pandemonium broke out in the small ice-cream shop. 

“Crucio” two called at once and James dived behind the upturned table with Rosa his mind racing. 

“Stop! That’s Potter’s boy. Don’t kill him!”

With a snarl of protestation, a man murmured “Rennervate.”

“Where?” The woman demanded, in a cruel hard voice.

“Careful. Potter’s boy. Don’t spill pure blood.”

“Then we will teach him a lesson. Incendio” She whispered delightedly. 

To James’ horror, the table he a Rosa took refuge behind caught aflame. He grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her up and behind him. Keeping his body between her and her attackers. 

“Aw. Look how sweet he is to his ickle-little-mudblood.” The woman said in a sickly sing-song voice. “Do wanna protect her? So Sweet. Too sweet. You can’t, you stupid boy.”

“Stop saying that word.” James said in a steady voice that didn’t betray the fear coursing through him. “Leave.”

The woman screamed in laughter. She continued in a baby-voice “Oh the courage! Look how brave he is! Tssk-tssk." Her voice switched to a cruel snarl when she said, "You should be afraid, boy.”

“Teach him your famous lesson, my dear” A large man said from behind the woman.

She gave another ugly peel of laughter. “This might hurt. But don’t worry. I won’t kill you. Just her.” Rosa whimpered behind James and he squared his shoulders. 

Wordlessly, she slashed her wand and purple light erupted forward. James barely threw up a weak shield charm in time before confounding and disarming one of the smaller men, his mask fell off and James thought he vaguely recognized him. The woman slashed again, this time the purple light reached him and scorched his right shoulder and he fell back on Rosa, his shoulder erupting in pain like he hadn’t felt. He felt sick rise in his throat, but swallowed it down. One of the figures grabbed violently at his shirt to pull James away from the girl. 

“NO!” James bellowed, his left fist making contact with what felt like a nose under the hood and giving a satisfying crunch. James wordlessly cast the levicorpus curse and the man was suspended by his ankle up in the air. James fired curse, hex and spells off in rapid succession. Suddenly he was hit again with the purple light, this time in his lower abdomen and he fell, scrambling forward. James tried to rise, but wasn’t fast enough. He found his limbs snapped together and he fell face first onto the floor paralyzed by the invisible bonds that held him. The woman kicked him over and roughly pushed his glasses back on his face, cutting the bridge of his nose as she did so. She then grabbed the sobbing and pleading Rosa by her hair and dragged her forward. Cold fear crept down his spine. James fought the invisible hold on him, his shoulder aching, his lower abdomen screaming. The woman pulled her hood down, to reveal what would be a beautiful face but it was disturbed and perverted by her cruelty. Her dark hair and gray eyes brought ice into the pit of his stomach. He knew her, the family resemblance was uncanny. It was Bellatrix. 

“Remember this. CRUCIO.” James would have screamed, yelled out if he could. But he couldn’t. All he was able to do was close his eyes as the pain overtook him. Then it was gone. “Remember. She. Is. A. Mudblood.” Every word was punctuated by a new wave of the Cruciatus Curse. James lay there helpless and voiceless. His eyes found Rosa, she was still alive, crying and bleeding behind the woman. One of the hooded figures was holding her tightly, leaving bruises under his grasp. James could see she didn’t dare move. James willed her to disappear, but she remained weak and scared. 

“Now” James suddenly found he was forced upward, the Bellatrix gripping his face, her nails digging into his skin. “We will kill her. She won’t dirty our world. She won’t steal our magic. You will learn that your place is above her. You will not sully us with your affections for filthy muggles and the mudbloods. You will understand that. And if you fail to learn this, you too will die a bloodtraitor’s death.”

As she raised her wand toward Rosa. James shut his eyes, knowing this would be a killing blow. He couldn’t watch. He wouldn’t watch. Before she could utter the incantation, a brick wall was conjured and thrown between Bellatrix and the girl. Bellatrix was propelled backwards. Bricks shattered everywhere, one flying and smashing into James temple. Wearily, James gazed forward and recognized Frank Longbottom standing in the wreckage of bricks and settling dust, before losing consciousness with his blood pooling sickeningly around him. 


End file.
